


Stand Too Close

by torigates



Category: Bones (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-11
Updated: 2013-11-11
Packaged: 2018-01-01 03:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1039938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torigates/pseuds/torigates
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what Hodgins remembers</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stand Too Close

 

 

 

  
This is what Hodgins remembers:

When Jack walked out of the lab he was standing there staring. Sinister.

Silently, Jack cursed Sweets, and stayed quiet.

“You can relax, son,” he said. “Angie already called me off,” he paused. “Consider yourself lucky.”

Still, Hodgins didn’t say anything.

Angela’s father kept staring him, and Jack honestly couldn’t remember ever feeling more scared. “Well come on, then” Billy Gibbons said, and turned.

Jack wasn’t sure why he followed. Like he said, the guy was sinister.

They ended up at a bar of all places. Looking back, Jack thought he probably should have taken that as a sign.

“To Angie,” her dad said. He was still wearing his sunglasses, even though the bar was almost completely dark. Jack probably should have taken that as a sign too.

“To Angela,” he said instead and put back his shot.

That’s about it. Except:

More shots, Billy Gibbon’s grinning, sharp pain, a dark alley, a plane, and heat. Lots and lots of heat.

Then darkness.

 

 

 

The first thing he became aware of was how hot he was. The sun was beating down on him, harsh and dry. The ground underneath him was hard and hot. Unbearably hot. It took Jack several minutes before he could open his eyes.

Everything was blindingly bright and painful.

The next thing he realised was how much his arm hurt. The whole thing was throbbing with pain. And heat. Everything was so hot.

When he finally worked up the strength to investigate, Hodgins immediately wished he hadn’t. There was Angela’s face staring back at him.

Finally, his hangover caught up with him and he emptied his stomach contents on the ground beside him. Even that was disgustingly hot.

It wasn’t until Hodgins stood up that he realised just how screwed he actually was. Fuck.

He reached into his pocket, and miraculously his cell phone was still there. There was a note attached to it: _‘Next time you won’t be so lucky.’_

Thank god he had a satellite phone.

 

 

 

The flight back to D.C. was long. Jack wasn’t sure how they ended up in Texas, and frankly he doesn’t want to ask either. All he wanted to do was get back to his enormous house and forget that this ever happened. Get back to his enormous house, call a tattoo removal clinic, and forget that this ever happened.

Of course, that was too much to ask.

 

 

 

On Monday, he avoided everyone. Especially Angela, but it wasn’t like he was _only_ avoiding her. He didn’t feel like talking to anyone.

He was bent over his (very large) microscope looking at tiny things when he heard her voice. “Hodgins!” He didn’t look up, maybe if he pretended he didn’t hear her, she would come back later.

“Hodgins,” she called again, this time from a closer distance. “Jack,” she said when she was finally standing next to him.

He sighed and turned to face her. “Hi, Angela.”

“I was calling you,” she said.

“Sorry, I must have really been in the zone.”

She looked at him, and Jack knew she’d find out. He didn’t know how she did it, but Angela _always_ knew.

“What happened to you on Friday?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” he said, trying for nonchalance.

“You just,” she trailed off for a moment waving her hand in the air. “Disappeared.”

He nodded and turned back to his microscope. “Yeah,” he said. “I was really beat, so I decided to just head home. Long day and all.”

He could see her out of the corner of his eye, standing there one hand on her hip. It was her ‘I-know-there’s-more-to-this-and-I-can-stand-here-all-day’ look. When they were dating he used to find it charming and endearing.

He didn’t owe her anything now.

She stood silently for a few more minutes before Jack finally caved, turning to face her again. “Look, Angela, I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Her expression quickly changed from annoyed to concerned. “What happened?” she asked. “Did my father do something?”

He shook his head again. “No,” he said. “It’s really nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” she said, putting her hand on his arm. As much as he tried not to, he winced at the contact and pulled his arm back.

“Jack,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, looking back down at the particulates he was examining.

She put her hand on his wrist. “You’re hurt,” she said. “How am I supposed to ignore that?”

“Angela,” he said a little more harshly than he meant. “Drop it. Please.” He tugged his hand away from hers and tried to ignore the hurt look that flashed across her face.

“Fine,” she said.

He tried not to watch her walk away again.

 

 

 

He found her later in her office. “Hey,” he said and leaned against the door frame.

She looked briefly up at him before turning her attention back to her work. “What do you want?” she asked. Jack figured he probably deserved that one.

“Listen, Ange. I’m sorry. I had a rough weekend, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

She looked back up at him, and Jack couldn’t help but notice how sad she looked. He hated that he was the one who did that to her. He probably deserved what Billy Gibbons did to him.

“What happened?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I still don’t want to talk about it,” he told her. “Trust me, you’re happier not knowing.”

She stood up and walked around her desk. “My father did do something to you, didn’t he?”

He smiled a little. “I said I wasn’t going to talk about it. Don’t think you can charm it out of me.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “And don’t think you can avoid the topic by being cute.”

He grinned at that. “You think I’m cute?” he asked.

She arched an eyebrow. “You think I’m charming?”

He laughed a little at that. He had really missed this. Talking, flirting, just being around Angela. Ever since they broke up things had been so weird. It reminded him of before they started dating—how awkward things had been back then. He was glad things were finally getting better.

“I’m sorry for whatever my father did to you,” she said. He grinned and ducked his head. “But I _did_ warn you to get out of town,” she continued before he could say anything.

He nodded. “You’re right. That’s what I get for not listening to you, I guess.”

Her smile faltered, but just for a minute. “Yeah,” she said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

He nodded. “I am.”

She nodded back at him. “Good,” she said.

They stood facing each other for a long moment, neither one speaking. He cleared his throat and turned away from her. “I guess I should get back to work.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Me too. I have a lot to do here.”

“Right. Me too.”

He turned and headed back to his work station. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Angela sitting at her desk, staring off at nothing in particular. He didn’t know if things would ever be the same they were before, but they were getting better.

And Angela would always be a part of him. Though he never thought it would be quite so literal.


End file.
